NATCHEZ, Miss. (WLBT) - Greg Iles, Natchez resident and New York Times Bestselling author, has died at the age of 65.

According to The Natchez Democrat , Iles died in his battle with multiple myeloma - an incurable blood cancer - at approximately 5 a.m. on Aug. 15.

Iles was first diagnosed with the condition when he 36 years old, in 1996. For the next 20 years, he kept his illness a secret from the public while continuing his writing career.

It wasn’t until the work on his final novel “Southern Man” was complete and there was a firm publication date set that Iles went public with his diagnosis.

According to a May 2024 interview , Iles said he waited to undergo a stem cell transplant in order to complete “Southern Man.”

“I waited to do the stem cell transplant, which some people

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